Orphan Station
History Orphan Station was a Richardson Scientific outpost on a small nameless planet that orbited a neutron star in an otherwise uninhabited sector. Initially the main attraction to this world was the faint fluctuations in the gravitational pull of the world. 2 times a day (in local time) the gravitational pull increases by 3% or so, before reverting back approximately 2.3 seconds later. This anomaly was originally discovered by a smuggler and spike drive route plotter, who sold the information on it to Richardson Scientific who later also discovered signals that appeared to come from TL5 Tech. After the establishment of the initial outpost, further more dangerous experiments were housed here to prevent accidents from spilling over to a fully inhabited system. It is theorized that one of those experiments was responsible for the Orphan Incident. System Conditions The planet that Orphan Station was established on was 76% Terran Standard Size with 83% Standard Gravity, betraying a more dense mass composition within. During the day, it was a warm -100 degrees, and at night could reach below -1600 degrees. The planet was coated in a thick layer of glacier ice, that aside from human built roads and the occasional impact event remained undisturbed from the planets formation due to a lack of atmosphere. The planet was the sole terrestrial planet in the system and was at the edge of the system with 2 larger gas giants further in, all orbiting a small neutron star. Layout The base was divided into 5 sections * Base Camp. The initial base dedicated to crew quarters and the star port * Comm Station. A small base in the center of a field of dish arrays designed to tie local communications together, as well as function as a observatory to examine interstellar signals without interference from human civilization * Refinery: An advanced project in nanotech refineries that took in vast amounts of surface ice to break down into ship fuel through molecular recombination. * Dig Site: A large base camp set up inside inside sealed chamber within a mountain, set up as a central base for dig expeditions to find the source of TL5 Signals discovered on the planet * Mining Station: A central collection base, home to a large number of harvester trucks that collect the vast amounts of surface ice to feed to the refinery. Additionally, there was a large number of smaller isolated research posts for more dangerous research projects The Orphan Incident Just under 1 year ago, Richardson Scientific lost all contact with the base. By the time the rescue crews made it there, the entire planet had broken up into a large asteroid belt. The only survivors were a Habitat and Gravatics engineer and lead scientist Dr. Lancaster, who were found in stasis onboard a powered down shuttle craft. Unfortunately, upon awakening Dr. Lancaster he brutally murdered the medics attending him, before seizing control of the ship transporting both himself and the other survivor. He immediately jumped into drive space, neither of which have been seen again.